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description Locale ms.date online version schema title
Describes the built-in functions in PowerShell.
en-US
08/14/2024
2.0.0
about_Built-in_Functions

about_Built-in_Functions

Short description

Describes the built-in functions in PowerShell.

Long description

PowerShell includes a set of functions that are loaded into every PowerShell session. These functions are similar to cmdlets but they're not included in any module. They're defined in the PowerShell engine itself.

These functions are provided as shorthand helpers for common tasks. In many cases, these functions call an existing cmdlet with an additional parameter.

cd..

In the Windows CMD shell it's common to run the cd command without any spaces between the command and the destination path. This function runs Set-Location .. to change to the parent folder.

cd\

In the Windows CMD shell it's common to run the cd command without any spaces between the command and the destination path. This function runs Set-Location \ to change to the root folder.

Pause

This function replicates the behavior of the pause command from cmd.exe. The script pauses execution and prompts the user to hit a key to continue.

help

This function invokes Get-Help with your parameters and passes the output to the system's pager command. PowerShell uses a different default pager for Windows and non-Windows systems. On Windows systems, the default pager is more.com. On non-Windows systems, the default pager is less.

If the $env:PAGER environment variable is defined, PowerShell uses the specified program instead of the system default.

prompt

This is the function that creates the default prompt for the PowerShell command line. You can customize your prompt by overriding this function with your own. For more information see about_Prompts.

Clear-Host

This function clears the screen. For more information, see Clear-Host.

TabExpansion2

This is the default function to use for tab expansion. For more information, see TabExpansion2.

oss

This function provides a short hand way to run Out-String -Stream in a pipeline. For more information, see Out-String.

mkdir

This function provides a short hand way to run New-Item -Type Directory with your parameters. This function is only defined for Windows systems. Linux and macOS system use the native mkdir command.

Windows drive letter functions

In Windows, drive mount points are associated with a drive letter like C:. You can switch to the current location on another drive just by entering that drive letter on the command line.

PowerShell create a function for every possible drive letter, A: through Z:.

These drive letter functions aren't defined on non-Windows systems.